Kapringen

With the big budget film Captain Phillips arriving in the UK recently it reminded me that I had this much smaller film sitting unwatched in my queue. I don't know the details of Greengrass' film, but I presume the basic principle is the same as this film, which sees Somali pirates take over a Danish cargo ship and demand millions of US dollars for its release. The drama in this case unfolds in the boardroom of the company (focused on CEO Ludvigsen) and on the ship (focused on cook Mikkel).

The film puts an emphasis on realism in how it delivers the story to the viewer; conference calls between the CEO and the pirates are filmed as conference calls (complete with time lag and echo) and the expert in maritime security that the fictional company brings in is indeed not an actor but someone who does this for a living for a shipping company. It helps that this sense of realism is so deeply embedded in the techniques because it does make the film work very well in terms of tension. This isn't Under Siege where the cook takes on the hijackers, nor is it a film where the dramatic score does the heavy lifting – if anything the film sits back and lets the people just be in this situation. As a result it is a more toned back film in regard to the delivery but it works well to make everything feel tense and unpredictable – the calls are as gripping as the scenes of imminent personal danger on the ship.

The cast are a big part of this. At first I was concerned that I would not be able to get into the actors since so many were familiar faces to me from Forbrydelsen, Borgen, Game of Thrones and some other shows. As it was though I didn't struggle at all because everyone plays their characters so well that I forgot they were ever anyone else. Malling was the biggest jump for me as he is very different here than when I have seen him before, but he does it very well, letting the cracks show but never overdoing it for a specific scene. Asbaek has the toughest role as it is full of danger and emotion and he convinces throughout, sharing his frustration and fear with the viewer. Supporting roles are generally good with Salim, Moller and others doing good. I particularly liked Porter; occasionally he is a little clunky when working with the actors as a performance, but generally when he is in "the room" where he works in real life then he is a great presence and again really helps the sense of realism.

Kapringen maybe doesn't have the large budget or production aims of a bigger film, but the focus on realism in the making of the film pays off to produce a story that is tense and engaging throughout. Well worth a look.

This hostage drama shows two different worlds: the despair of the crew on a vessel that has been hijacked by Somalian pirates, and the concern of the management of their shipping company in Copenhagen. The juxtaposition of these two worlds, connected by a dramatic event, is the strong cinematographic concept this film is built on.

The two worlds are very different. The crew on the ship is terrified by armed pirates they can't understand. They are locked up in a small room, where fear, heat, boredom and lack of food slowly drive them crazy. The managers in their design offices are dressed in tailored suits, wear cuff-links and drive limousines. Their fear is different, but far from negligible. The CEO chooses to personally negotiate with the pirates, and thus takes on the responsibility for the lives of his crew members. He is under great pressure from their families, from his board, and from the possibility that the press will report about the hijacking.

Director Lindholm focuses on two characters: the CEO of the shipping company and the cook on the vessel. The hijacking takes its toll on both of them, in different ways. The film switches from the clean offices in Copenhagen, where the CEO negotiates about the ransom, to the ship where the cook lives in continuous fear of being killed. The psychological approach of the film makes for great drama. Plus: this is a Danish film, so you can be sure the focus is on subtle human interaction, not on spectacular action scenes. The fact that the moment of the hijacking itself is not even shown, tells it all.

I have just returned from seeing this at the cinema and I thought it was a really good film. I've seen most of the recent clutch of excellent Danish films and I would say this film was as good as any, perhaps with the one exception of The Hunt. I've noticed one reviewer objects to the lack of voice given to the hijackers, demonstrated by their speech not being subtitled. I completely disagree with this being an issue, the film is not about the hijackers, it is about the crew of the ship, the situation they find themselves in, and their relationship with the corporation that owns the ship and is responsible for the ransom that is demanded for the safety of the crew. The film seeks to portray the sense of terror that the crew are going through and arguably the best tool used in the film is the non-translated speech of the hijackers ... we have no idea what they are saying, why they can be calm and friendly one minute and then become furious seconds later for no apparent reason, waving their guns around ... this is exactly the way the crew would have experienced it. What would be the point of letting the audience know what the hijackers were saying if the crew don't understand, bearing in mind the film is trying to put us in their shoes? The CEO of the corporation comes across as stiff and unrealistic to begin with but we are shown at the start of the film that this is how he conducts negotiations, and as the hostage negotiation goes on, his stiff demeanour slowly slips away. The film expertly rackets up the tension, and is one of those films that makes you feel like you're experiencing what the characters are, rather than watching as an audience from afar. It is not a 10/10 classic but it is a very good film and well worth watching.

A Danish cargo ship, MV Rozen, is hijacked by Somali pirates en route to Mumbai. The pirates, led by Omar (Abdihakin Asgar), who claims only to be the negotiator, take the crew of seven hostage and demand a ransom of $19 million in return for the ship and their lives. After an unnerving silence lasting days, Omar engages Peter Ludvigsen (Søren Malling), CEO of the shipping company, in a psychological game of negotiation that shreds the nerves of both Peter and the hostages.

Kapringen (A Hijacking) focuses on Peter, who shuns the offer of a trained negotiator, and three of his crew: Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk), the ship's cook; Jan (Roland Møller), an engineer; and the captain (Keith Pearson). With pressure from the board to resolve the situation, the burden of facing distraught family members and his own guilt at being unable to solve the crises with an instant payment, Peter struggles to gain the upper hand where his failure will mean the deaths of his men.

Tobias Lindholm, who co-wrote 2012's excellent Jagten (The Hunt) writes and directs this critically acclaimed film with a similar approach, refusing to spoon feed us with gimmickry or overstated episodes, instead preferring to leave us to join the dots, to imagine what is happening in the hours, days and weeks that Kapringen passes over. Lindholm understands that our fears are greatest when we cannot see or define them. As soon as the monster in a horror film is revealed, it ceases to be terrifying, and so it is in Kapringen. It's just that the monster isn't a vampire; it's isolation, the loss of basic human rights and the constant terror of impending execution.

As the weeks unfold, we make assumptions about the nature of the horror that occurs behind the locked cabin doors. For much of the time we don't know what is occurring as Lindholm exercises the same power as Omar. When he's revealed all he wants, he simply hangs up, cuts away, to leave us wondering. The only palpable evidence is Mikkel's increased shuffling and enhanced stoop as he cowers in the hijackers' presence and withdraws into himself.

Asbæk's performance is complete. We watch him decay in mind and body and can almost smell the sweat and fear on him. His resolve evaporates and he clings to any hope or kindness even though it comes from his tormentors.

Conversely, Asgar is cold as Omar, clearly the only character enjoying the experience. He's been here numerous times and has perfected the duel personas of good cop/bad cop offering kindness and threatening murder as if he, himself, is the victim. It is a chilling situation that feels too real to be entirely comfortable and does for sailing what Jaws did for swimming almost 40 years ago.

There is an oddness in the performance of Gary Skjoldmose-Porter as Conor Julian, the maritime hijack expert called in by the shipping company. With no other listings on IMDb but a job as Corporate Security Manager at Clipper Group, he appears to have been recruited to 'be' the adviser rather than cast to 'play' him. His (lack of?) acting prowess jars at times but the impression he gives of improvising his advice as the actors around him play their own parts in the crisis adds a certain depth and reality to Kapringen.

Malling (A Royal Affair and TV's The Killing and Borgen) gives a very restrained, but moving performance as a man who takes control through his arrogance but also needs to take responsibility so as not to feel impotent. Attacked from every side in subtle ways, he somehow manages to absorb the extreme stress and when he does shows signs of buckling, it is understanding and a relief to see that he is human.

Kapringen is a film with little action and barely a raised voice but the violence is unsettling and you'll find yourself wondering what on earth sane men and women are doing sailing around the world with such risks.

Kapringen is a film you'll struggle to find at the multiplexes so make the effort to seek it out at an arts cinema. Or wait for the DVD. Just see it.

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There is something very unique in the way Scandinavian directors and scriptwriters build a story. Realism is always a core element in their plots, irrespective of the genre, unlike films from other parts of the world.

Tobias Lindholm's Kapringen (A Hijacking) is one such film.

At first glance, it will definitely remind you of Captain Phillips because the theme revolves around a vessel hijacking by a group of Somali Pirates. However, the resemblance ends here. Although the Maersk Alabama Hijacking (basis for Capt. Phillips) unfolded in a typical Hollywood manner in real life, most vessel hijackings are quite the opposite. Tobias masterfully captures the scenes behind such a hijacking – the lives of the sailors held in captivity, sandwiched between merciless pirates and their stubborn company officials who refuse to let the pirates dictate terms.

The movie is indeed a lesson in negotiation and crisis management. It is also a disturbing account of how corporates weigh their balance sheet more than the lives of their own men, who spent months in hostile waters, away from their loved ones.

The actors do justice to their roles and put in credible performances. However, the show stealer is Tobias's well written script (I read that he has also penned 'The Hunt', which is in race for the Best Oscar for Foreign film). The negotiation scenes are shot with such realism that it will remind you of one of those boardroom conference calls in your office. I also read in one of the forums that the phone calls were actually made between Denmark and Somalia, so that the voice quality remains poor (with a slight echo) as anybody would experience over a long distance call.

Unlike Captain Phillips, Kapringen will definitely leave you devastated and in agony over decisions and actions that could have otherwise altered the outcome. In the end, they were all greedy; some for money, others for mere survival.

To me, the movie is a tribute to those countless sailors and their everyday struggle, far away from home, and everything they truly love. A must watch.

Verdict: 7.5/10